London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Dr. Gourlav's report on the Hoxton nutrition centre and the Starcross.street
sub.centre is summarised below:—
During the year 68 new cases were admitted to the Hoxton centre; 44 children were found
to be suffering from one or more physical defects, of which 17 were respiratory, 12 circulatory,
8 nervous, 3 orthopaedic and 24 miscellaneous.
Ten of the above suffered from bronchial catarrh, of whom 5 showed signs of infantile rickets.
The dental condition of the children was surprisingly good. Anaemia was not common. As is
usual at all the nutrition centres, haemoglobin estimations were made in all cases.
Investigation of the incomes of 58 families was made, with the following result:— Table 12
| Classification | Number of families | Amount available for food per " man " | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7s. and upwards | 5s. 10½d. to 7s. | Less than 5s. 10½d. | ||
| Children of employed men | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 |
| Children of unemployed men | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Children of widows and separated parents | 7 | 3 | — | 4 |
Of the 68 children, 49 were already having milk in school when they were admitted. In
many cases where the family income indicated that the children could not be having adequate
meals at home, school dinners were refused by the parents.
At the Starcross.street sub.centre, 37 new cases were admitted. Assessment of family
incomes showed that they came from homes distinctly better off than those of the Hoxton children.
Fifty per cent. of the children came from homes where the income per "man" was over 10s. a
week.
As in the Paddington and other centres, here the picture was often of highly.strung problem
children. Physical defects were observed in 27 children, including respiratory, 5; circulatory,
2; nervous, 6; orthopaedic, 3; miscellaneous, 7; rickety, 4.
It is remarkable to find the children here, coming from better homes, were generally much
more anaemic than the poorer Hoxton children. The haemoglobin estimations at Hoxton and at
Starcross.street compared with accepted standards, were as shown in the following table:—
Table 13
| Age group | Hoxton | Starcross. street | * Osgood & Baker | † Davidson & Fullerton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 91.0 | 84.4 | 93.5 | _ |
| 12 | 93.9 | 86.8 | 87.9 | — |
| 11 | 90.5 | 80.6 | 87.5 | 93.0 |
| 10 | 90.4 | 80.0 | 90.0 | 92.0 |
| 9 | 89.5 | 84.1 | 83.5 | 91.4 |
| 8 | 89.1 | 71.5 | 85.8 | 88.0 |
| 7 | 90.8 | 82.6 | 85.0 | 90.2 |
| 6 | 94.9 | 85.6 | 84.7 | 87.4 |
| 5 | 88.1 | 90.0 | 82.8 | 86.0 |
| 4 | 95.0 | — | 84.6 | 83.1 |
* American Journal of Diseases of Children, August, 1935.
† British Medical Journal, 3rd August, 1935.
These results are very perplexing, as is also the failure to bring about any improvement
in some of the anaemic cases by giving iron in the doses ordinarily prescribed. In some of these
cases a holiday has brought about a cure, but in others even prolonged convalescence has failed.
Finally, the help of Dr. Lucy Wills, of the biochemical department of the Royal Free hospital,
was enlisted. Complete blood counts were carried out and greater success in removing the
anaemia was attained by special medical measures, including the administration of heroic quantities
of iron.
Particulars of the remedial measures taken at the Starcross.street sub.centre were as follows:
Convalescence, 25; country holiday, 8; additional nourishment, 15; housing improvement, 6;
sun.ray treatment, 2; open.air school, 1; treatment of dental or other conditions, 28. Co.operation
in carrying out the treatment was good on the whole, except for dental conditions.
During holidays, in addition to meals and allowances from the Unemployment Assistance
Board, cod.liver oil, malt and halibyn were supplied from the centre in several cases and others
had milk in the parks and schools.